


Love is Blind

by GiRa



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: 8th year, Fluff, Getting Together, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Jealous Harry, M/M, Misunderstandings, Oblivious Draco Malfoy, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining Harry Potter, Post-Battle of Hogwarts, Redeemed Draco Malfoy, Slow Burn, harry being clueless
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-04-30
Packaged: 2021-02-23 11:17:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23310670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GiRa/pseuds/GiRa
Summary: When Neville and Draco become close and suddenly Neville announces that he wants to ask a Slytherin out, what's Harry-who-won't-just-pull-himself-together Potter to do other than try and stop it from happening.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley
Comments: 31
Kudos: 192





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay I'm really bad at summaries, but I tried lmao. This is the first time I'll be posting one of my longer fic ideas, so please bear with me as I try to update a decent amount as I go. Also, this might go through a lot of editing every once in a while. Anyhow, I hope you enjoy this!

Their laughter mocked him.

Harry watched as Draco and Neville laughed merrily, unaware of the death-glares Harry was sending their way as they made their way down to the greenhouse, as per usual. It wasn’t that Harry hated either of them- not any more- but rather, he wished that he were there in Neville’s place instead, laughing with Draco and being on the receiving end of all his bright smiles.

After the war, Draco had done everything he could to apologize and make it up to anyone he had hurt during the war. Harry, like most others, were very weary when they accepted this fact and tried to accommodate Draco’s new behavior, but eventually realized that he really was trying. For a start, he rarely said no when people asked him for favors, no matter how much he clearly disliked the task.

Neville, for a start, was one of the first few people that let go of his grudge pretty easily when Draco started trying to help him. He was the one who willingly spent time with him outside of asking for favors without Draco going up to him for company, and he was the first to declare that he genuinely likes Draco as a person. 

And once Harry had begun to warm up to Draco’s new personality, he had established such a close friendship with Neville that those two were almost always found together now. To make matters worse, once Harry started developing his crush on Draco, it was near impossible to get him alone so Harry could get to know him for himself. 

So here they were, rebuilding Hogwarts and trying to make it in time before the school year was set to start. The only times Harry was able to get Draco alone when they were rebuilding was when they were assigned to work on the same area. It wasn’t that he and Draco weren’t quite speaking to each other, because the times they spent together were all fun. Draco had a decent relationship with most students in their year now. It was just that Draco spent most of his free time with Neville, and when he was with other people, about 65% of the time Neville was also present. For the rest of the time, Draco was with the other Slytherins that chose to come back and help out.

“Mate, just go down there and offer to help them out,” Ron sighed, tired of watching Harry sulk as they rebuilt a pillar. 

“What good will that do me,” Harry groaned. “He’ll be too busy keeping his conversation up with Neville anyway. They won’t even remember I’m there.”

“Nonsense, Harry,” Hermione huffed, joining the pair of them. Aside from helping rebuild, she was also in charge of scheduling and checking on everyone, which meant she could visit them often. Of course, she never stayed too long because she refuses to slack off and waste time. “They’ll try to include you into the conversation. Draco and Neville aren’t like that.”

Hermione and Draco had gotten on surprisingly well, but Hermione and Ron were one of the few who took much longer to warm up to him. Ron still calls him ‘Malfoy,’ until now, but they’ve become relatively civil at least. Hermione, on the other hand, is glad to finally have someone who can keep up with her rants, arguments, and academic quests and Draco, who probably feels that he owes a lot more to her, is always willing to indulge her.

“Do you even know what they talk about sometimes?” Harry practically whinged. It didn’t matter how old he was, he just finished a war he’s been fighting since he was a baby. He was allowed this. “Plants! And potions, and school.”

“All the better,” she smiled teasingly at him. “Maybe you’ll learn a thing or two from them.”

“Ha ha, you’re so hilarious,” he deadpanned, looking at her like it was the worst idea she’s ever thought of. And to think, she was supposed to be the one that had good ideas. It’s a sign that there’s no hope for Harry.

“Come off it, mate,” Ron joined in on her teasing. “You’ll probably be too busy staring at him to even get a word out.”

“I am not that hopeless,” Harry groaned, flicking his wand to set another brick in place.

“Sure,” his friends looked at him with some pity, but mostly amusement. “Promise me one thing, then,” Hermoine resolved. “You’ll do something about that crush of yours when the year starts. I don’t think you’ll be able to focus on your NEWTs like this.”

“Hey!” Harry protested, dropping another brick he was levitating. 

“Yeah, ‘Mione,” Ron nodded, agreeing with Harry. “I doubt he’d be able to focus even more if he and Draco are dating by that point.’

“You’re both awful,” Harry sighed, hanging his head low.

“Hey, if it makes you feel any better I could set you and Draco to work on the Charms classroom and the other rooms in the second floor for the rest of the week,” Hermione suggested. “I would have made it the library instead, which would make it longer since you’d have to get through a bunch of books, but Madam Pince doesn’t want anyone touching them. Too delicate, she says.”

There wasn’t too much rebuilding left to do at this point. The pillars that Harry and Ron are working on weren’t too damaged and are among just a few that were left standing. Everyone focussed on rebuilding rooms first and restoring the spell work in the structures. Now, they were focusing on the parts with minimal damage that could wait until later and organizing the furniture and whatnot inside every room.

“Thanks, Hermoine,” he smiles gratefully at his friend, feeling his cheeks flush a bit with excitement. 

“You boys are adorable,” she gave him a small smile. “Now, I have to check on Seamus and Dean in the Great Hall.”

“Adorable,” Ron teased once his girlfriend was out of sight. “You could go join them, if you like. We’re almost done with this pillar and that should be it for the day.”

Harry declined, helping Ron finish the pillar quickly instead. However, rather than going straight back home to Grimmauld Place, he hung back and slowly made his way to the Greenhouse where Draco and Neville were attending to the plants. They did their fair share of work around and replanted everything necessary already but volunteered to check on them daily and take care of them until the school started and Professor Sprout wouldn’t be as busy.

“You guys are still here?” Harry asked, making his way to where they were bent over a set of plants.

“Harry!” Neville called over, “We got a batch of Alihotsy and decided to plant them. Check it out.”

Harry situated himself beside Draco and looked over at the strange, pinkish plants that were peeking out of the dirt. 

“Okay..?” Harry wasn’t quite sure of what was so spectacular about them, but from the looks of Draco’s face as he gave a small smile in the direction of the plants, Harry knew he wanted Draco to look at him instead. 

“They’re quite hard to obtain but Draco was able to reach out to an old family friend to get some for us,” Neville grinned, placing a hand on Draco’s shoulder while the blond simply turned his head and grinned back at his friend. “Now we could grow more here and multiply them.”

Draco, who probably noticed the still-quite-confused expression on his face, must have took pity on him and grabbed a knife. To end his life right there and thereby end his suffering? Perhaps. But no, instead he turned towards the plant and started scraping the surface of its leaves delicately.

“Their leaves are used in laughing potions, which causes hysterical and uncontrollable laughter,” Draco explained, and Harry listened intently. “If you eat their leaves alone, that can also trigger it but it would be much more potent.”

A small fluff of fuzz gathered on his pale hand and he took a pinch of them, taking about half, and blew it in Harry’s direction. Suddenly, Harry felt as if something was tickling his insides and let out a sudden laugh before abruptly stopping himself, the tickling sensation fading.

“Their fuzz, or fine hairs, are practically harmless but can tickle a bit,” Draco explained. Suddenly, another pinch of the final half was taken from his outstretched hand, this time by Neville, and blown into Draco’s face.

At that moment, Harry wasn’t sure if he wanted to hit Neville because how could he touch the other man so casually and tell him to stop smiling at Draco like that, or thank him because Draco let out the most adorable giggle, causing his cheeks to pinken. 

Harry felt blessed.

“Do not do that,” Draco huffed, slapping Neville’s shoulder jokingly. “Thank Merlin it’s just you two, or that would have been embarrassing.”

_Just_. Harry resisted the urge to frown. He didn’t want to be _Just Harry_ to Draco, but at the same time he was glad that the other man felt comfortable enough around him to not be too embarrassed by possibly the best sound that could come out of him.

“Hey, Harry,” Neville piped up, pulling him out of his lone sulking. “Draco and I were wondering if it would be a good idea to have a party for everyone that helped out with the rebuilding. What do you think?”

“A party?” Harry asked. “Like with the Professors and everything?” He felt rather skeptical about how a bunch of teenagers and alcohol would mix with having their professors around. Not well, he surmised.

“Well, not really,” Draco rubbed at his nape. “We were thinking of having a feast together at the Great Hall with the professors and the younger students, since they can’t drink yet, then move over to the Longbottom Manor. Neville’s aunt said she wouldn’t mind.”

“Oh, that sounds pretty fun,” Harry agreed. “So it would basically be a party for our year?”

“Yeah, essentially,” Neville smiled guiltily. “Since you know most of the people in our year because of the DA, I was hoping you could spread the word?”

“Sure,” Harry agreed. If Draco was helping host, then he most definitely was planning on going, and he was going to make sure it was a success no matter what. 

“I’ll be in charge of gathering the Slytherins,” Draco stated before straightening himself. “But for now, I must get going. My mother is expecting me for supper.”

Harry hadn’t even realized how dark it had gotten out and agreed. He wanted to work on renovating Grimmauld Place a bit before going to bed. He already hired some people to redesign it while he was helping out at Hogwarts, but he left the finer details to himself.

“Alright then,” Neville nodded, and the three of them made their way out of the greenhouse. “I’ll take off first.”

And with that, he Disapperated with a pop, leaving Harry and Draco to stand alone together in the dark. 

“So…” Harry trailed off awkwardly, already planning on hitting himself later.

“Thanks for agreeing to help out, Harry,” Draco said sincerely, flushing a bit and casting his glance down to the ground.

“It’s no problem,” Harry said as nonchalantly as possible, wanting Draco to just look at him instead. “You’re doing most of the work, anyway. What with the planning and all.”

“Me and Neville, you mean,” Draco mumbled, his cheeks flushing a bit. Although that could be because of the cold air that surrounded them.

“Right…” No, Harry would much rather think about just Draco. “So, we should get going.”

“Right,” Draco nodded. “By the way, I’m glad that I’m allowed to come back this year. That I finally get a chance to know you, and everyone.”

And with that, he Disapparated into the night as Neville had done a few moments ago, leaving Harry alone by the greenhouse smiling like a madman.

Yes, he was excited for this school year as well.


	2. Chapter 2

“Harry, stop moping and get ready,” Hermione chided as she breezed through Grimmauld Place, picking up his haphazardly strewn clothes that essentially looked to be serving as his floorboard. 

“I don’t want to go,” Harry groaned into his pillow. “I don’t want to socialize and you can’t make me.”

“You’re wrong about that, mate,” Ron sighed, leaning against Harry’s door frame. “Just give it up and get dressed. Besides, you were all for this party when Malfoy suggested it.”

“That doesn’t count!” Harry protested. “You know how I get when he asks things of me.”

“You poor baby,” Hermione cooed sarcastically, although Harry could tell she was holding back a laugh and continued scowling into his pillow. “Whipped for Draco and now he doesn’t know what to do with himself.”

He didn’t, but he wasn’t about to admit that.

As it turns out, the week Hermione assigned him to partner with Draco was among the last 2 weeks of rebuilding, and now they were celebrating with everyone before heading out to the party Draco and Neville had pulled together at the Longbottom Manor. Nonetheless, it was a great fucking week. 

Or at least, it was. Harry finally got the chance to talk to Draco alone more. He felt like they were finally getting closer at that point, and not because they were being put together in the same group. No, this was Draco genuinely enjoying having a conversation with him, and just the thought of Draco liking Harry’s presence was enough to cause a giddy, fluttering feeling to wash through him.

They made jokes, they teased one another, and they got to talk about how they were as kids. They discussed their previous professors, delicately avoiding any of the conflicting feelings they had about certain teachers like Moony and Snape. It wasn’t that they still held negative feelings against them, but they knew both of them were past that stage and would rather look forward and make up for their past instead of brooding on it.

 _“Potter, what the bloody hell do you think you’re doing?”_ Draco had scolded him while they were fixing up the charms classroom. They had already organized the chairs and whatnot and were now working on the items used in class as well as the books, with Harry organizing the bookshelf.

 _“Back to ‘Potter,’ are we?”_ Harry had raised his eyebrow, grinning lightly at the offended look Draco was giving him. _“Well, Malfoy, I believe I’m organizing this shelf.”_

 _“You wish it could be called organizing. Move over, I’ll do this while you arrange the paintings.”_ And with that, Draco had shoved Harry aside and began muttering to himself about alphabetization and sorting by year they’re learned in.

He was just as, if not more, meticulous as Hermonie when it came to organizing, and he doesn’t know why he found it so endearing on Draco, but it was, unlike when Hermione did it sometimes. Whatever the reason, he was perfectly content to watch Draco flick his wand sharply while shelving the books quickly.

Another thing that heavily amused him while they were fixing up was how he tried to disguise how thoughtful he was when it came to every detail. For example, he created a platform for Professor Flitwick to stand on when lecturing.

 _“So that he no longer has a reason to defile good books with the grime on the Hogwarts floor,”_ Draco huffed, testing to make sure that the legs were even so it wouldn’t rattle. 

Yes, everything was going amazing.

Until the last day they were assigned together. 

For the whole week, they spend their breaks with one another instead of going up and down the hallways to eat outside when there were “perfectly good tables to eat on here.” Except on this last day, Neville came up to where they were working and brought Draco lunch.

No, even worse. After bringing him lunch, he asked if he wanted to come with him to the greenhouse after and do some testing on one of the plants they’ve been growing so Draco could experiment on its leaves over the weekend.

 _Harry_ was supposed to ask him to hang out after but _no_ , he was beaten by Neville. Which meant that over the weekend, Draco was busy with his brewing and during the final week, they weren’t assigned to work with one another again. Any point after that was spent with Neville in the greenhouses, and all Harry was able to do was give a passing hello when they met.

It wasn’t like they were bloody dating. Even the thought made him shudder, and yet he couldn’t wrap his head around why those two were so bloody inseparable.

“Oh hell, he’s sulking again,” Ron wailed, marching his way over to Harry’s bed and shaking him violently. “Stop it, mate. I can see you slumping.”

“You don’t want to disappoint Draco by not showing up, do you?” Hermione said, and she had a point. _Of course she did._ And it made him feel like a right git, because he did promise he would be there. 

“Fine,” Harry sighed, pushing himself up. “I’ll get dressed then we can Floo to Hogsmead together.”

He got dressed slowly but finished just in time for them to make the trip to Hogwarts while being considered late, but still slightly acceptable. The Hall was already filled with students and parents who had helped out with the rebuilding, but they managed to spot their friends easily. It was hard to miss a large group of 8th Years boisterously laughing on one side of the room.

“Before the food is brought out,” McGonagall casted a sonorous once everyone was seated. “I would like to thank you all for your efforts in rebuilding this school. I’m glad to see that you share the same love for what might have been your second home while growing up as I did, and that we have been able to move forward from darker times. It heartens me to see people get over their past prejudices…”

Harry noticed some of the Slytherins shift uneasily, but kept his focus on the new Headmistress. The Slytherins were accepted here, everyone knew that by now, and everyone got on just fine.

“...and grow to be better, and to be more than who they were before. I would also like to announce that because of the many hands that helped rebuild the school, the other professors were able to prepare for the next school year. With that said, Hogwarts will be ready to accommodate students in time for September 1, and will function as peacefully and normally as before.”

The Hall erupted in cheers, mostly coming from the students. Harry knew, at least for himself, that he was glad to get a sense of normalcy for once in his life and experience a regular school year without fearing for his life. 

“Alright, I will not bore you with any more announcements. Those can wait for the Opening Feast,” there was a collective but scattered groan from a few students, but the tone was light and joking. “For now, let’s enjoy ourselves.”

And the feast was fun. Harry was suddenly very thankful Ron and Hermione wouldn’t let him miss this, because he definitely would have regretted it sooner or later. It lasted a while, but not too late because parents wanted to get back home, and the younger children were being scolded for bedtimes. 

The only ones who were still buzzing and energetic by the time most people left were the 8th Year students, who were all looking forward to the party that they were going to. From what Harry knows, there would be a few 7th Years present as well, but a very select few because most would be underaged and not allowed by their parents. Anyone else who was allowed would most likely be there.

“Mister Potter,” McGonagall greeted him as the 8th Year students got ready to leave. They had all planned on leaving together, bar Draco and Neville because they wanted to get some things ready before everyone arrived. Harry tried not to think too much on it and focus on his former teacher instead. 

“Headmistress,” he smiled at her.

“It hadn’t escaped my notice that you and your classmates are dressed to have fun,” she raised an eyebrow at him and he found himself flushing, reasons unknown to him. It wasn’t like they were going to do anything, at least nothing that can be said based on how they were dressed. “I just wanted to say thank you, and I hope you get to enjoy this night. You, of all people, deserve it.”

Any previous confusion he had turned into warmth. He was always thankful for McGonagall, and how she would sometimes feel like a parent figure to her. “Thank you, Headmistress,” he smiled.

“Alright, you kids have fun,” she shooed him away. “Your friends look anxious to leave already.”

He turned around and saw his classmates try to pretend they weren’t watching his conversation with McGonagall go down and chuckled lightly to himself. “It appears they are. I’ll have them clear the area then, shall I?’

“Yes, you do that,” Headmistress McGonagall gave a slight smile. “Have fun, but do try to watch yourself around Mr. Malfoy. I know how embarrassing adolescent feelings can be,” and with that, she was retreating, leaving Harry to gape openly and wrap his head around what she said.

“Harry, are you ready to go?” he heard Hermione ask him from behind, turning around and closing his mouth with an audible clack. 

“Hmm? Yeah, I’m fine,” he responded hurriedly, feeling a light warmth on his cheeks. “Let’s go now.”

She gave him a skeptical look but shrugged it off and called for the rest of those who were left behind to follow as they marched their way into Hogsmead and took a Floo to Neville’s place.

The first thing he noticed when they arrived was that it was awfully dim. Not dark to the point where he couldn’t see, but it was clear that the lights were spelled to be dimmer than usual.

“Blood hell, Nev, they’re here!” he heard someone hiss, presumably Draco. 

“We would be fine if you would just drop the dis-” the whispering was drowned out by the flames roaring as the other students came through the Floo. “Next time, I promise.”

“Alright,” a voice that most definitely belonged to Draco huffed. “Go greet them.”

“What? Aren’t you coming with me?” Neville whispered loudly, leaving Harry to exchange confused glances with the other students who had arrived and were standing by the Hearth, unsure of what to do while the two of them bickered.

“Of course not,” Draco drawled. “You’re the host, so you should greet them.”

“In case you’ve forgotten, you’re hosting too,” Neville grumbled.

“But it’s your house. Imagine what your grandmother would say when she finds out about your negligent hosting-”

“Ladies, ladies,” Seamus interrupted, striding over to where the loud whispering was coming from like he owned the place. “We can all hear you,” he announced.

Neville appeared looking rather sheepish with Draco, who trailed behind him with an awful imitation of Neville’s facial expression.

"Oh my, they’ve heard us quarrel, darling,” he sighed dramatically, covering half of his face in faux embarrassment. “We do sincerely apologize, we’re normally much better than this.”

“Shove it, Malfoy,” Neville laughed, wrapping an arm around Draco’s shoulders and pulling him closer, making Harry’s stomach turn. Thankfully, he dropped the arm immediately after. “Sorry about that, I was just convincing him that there was no need for a disco ball.”

“Why would I need a reason to have a disco ball?” Draco huffed, plopping himself down on one of the seats. Neville rolled his eyes and swished his wand. Not a few moments after, a bunch of snacks came floating onto the table in the drawing room and music began thumping through the walls.

“Drinks are in the kitchen, you guys help yourselves,” Neville grinned as everyone began to disperse, throwing themselves on one of the settees or making their way to the kitchen, most likely on a mission to get as shit faced as possible by the end of the night. Neville dropped himself beside Draco and said something lowly in his ear, causing Draco to lean in and, not long after, burst out into laughter.

Harry swallowed thickly and decided that maybe he should join that mission to get shit faced as soon as possible.

When he came back from the kitchen, Neville was gone. Probably going around to be a good host. This would have been great, if it weren’t for the fact that Pansy Parkinson now occupied the seat that Neville had evacuated.

Sighing resignedly to himself, he decided to go around and talk to his other classmates. It wouldn’t do for Harry to sulk by himself and not enjoy the party. Besides, he was surrounded by friends anyway, he might as well enjoy himself.

At some point, everyone had broken into different games in different places in the drawing room. In the center, people were playing beer-pong, while there was one circle for those playing Truth or Dare and various groups who were just talking all around the place.

“Check this out,” Dean said, standing by the area where they were playing Drunk Jenga. He held his wand and pointed it at what might have been the block he was aiming to get. It was a singular block in the middle and on the very bottom of the whole tower, keeping it up.Then, pulling back high, he swiped his wand quickly. Harry was half-expecting Dean to cast a spell to remove it.

Instead, he knocked the block out with his wand and it went soaring towards Anthony Goldstein, who cheered loudly after narrowly avoiding getting hit by a flying block. “Wicked! I say that should be the only way we’re allowed to remove blocks.”

There was a quick cheer after that and that’s how the game continued, prompting Harry to think that maybe Drunk Jenga wouldn’t be the best idea right now.

“Are you alright?” he heard a soft voice ask him. On his left appeared Draco Malfoy, who he didn’t realize had been standing there. Merlin, how long had he been there?

“I’m good,” Harry grinned. _I’m good now, that is._ He gestured to one of the free sofas and they both sat down, closer than Harry was expecting but somehow not close enough for his liking. “Got tired of hearing Pansy talk about Witch Weekly?”

“You have no idea,” Draco groaned, throwing his head back and exposing the pale expanse of his neck, leaving Harry to stare hopelessly. “Are you sure you’re having fun, though? It’s quite hard to believe when it looked like you were just standing all confused in the middle of the room.”

“Prat,” Harry rolled his eyes. “I was just observing the drunk Jenga players.”

“Oh, them,” Draco snickered, watching as another block went soaring for the wall, this time creating a small hole while half of them cheered with excitement while the other half panicked about the ‘destruction of property’ like they couldn’t just spell it fixed. 

They’ve been repairing a school, for Merlin’s sake.

“Okay then, just making sure,” Draco shrugged lightly in a rather un-Malfoyish gesture. “It wouldn’t look good for me to have dragged you to a boring party.”

“Hardly boring,” Harry snorted, quickly dodging his head to the side as a block flew in their direction. 

“Good,” Draco said simply, laughing as he watched someone dance around in the Truth or Dare group. Harry didn’t even bother looking over, he was too entranced by the way Draco looked when he laughed freely like that.

Too bad the novelty of the moment had to be cut off so soon, though, because something hard knocked him on the back of his head. 

“Fuck!” he yelped, rubbing the back of his head. He looked down and realized that the perpetrator was a small sodding Jenga block.

“Sorry, mate!” Michael Corner waved in his direction. “Mind tossing it back over, though.”

Harry rolled his eyes with a grin and tossed it back, only to realize that Draco was snickering behind him. “What?” he asked, refocusing his attention back to the blond.

“Oh nothing,” he said lightly, but before Harry could prod, he quickly added “I’m just glad you came.”

Harry was sorely tempted to say something sarcastic or teasing back, but he noticed the light sincerity in the other man’s tone and decided against it.

“I’m glad I came too, Draco,” he murmured, keeping eye contact with him. Draco, slightly wide-eyed and flushed pink from the alcohol, just stared at him back, as if unsure of what to do with himself. Then, Harry found himself leaning in slowly, just a small movement, and observed how Draco didn’t flinch or move away. Instead, he watched carefully, as if slightly dazed, as Harry shifted closer.

“Hey, Draco!”

Harry wanted to scream. Neville was waving him over from one of the hallways and Draco had begun pulling himself out of Harry’s space to look at his friend properly.

“Wanna help me throw Ron in the lake?”

“What the hell?” Draco asked. “Of course I do! Wanna help, Harry?”

He should probably say no, he thought. Ron would kill him, but the bright excitement shining in Draco’s eyes got the better of him and well, he could never say no to Draco. Not anymore, at least.

“Sure, but only if you help me throw Neville in as well.”

“Deal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I'll try to update as often as I can. You can also receive updates from my [ Tumblr ](https://chaoticowlpost.tumblr.com/masterlist), where I also post short fics not on my ao3 account <3


	3. Chapter 3

“C’mon, boys,” Hermione sighed. “Just get on the train.”

“Can’t you just let me find Draco first?” Harry pleaded, the rapid movement of his eyes never ceasing as he scanned the crowd for a bright, blind head. “What if he’s not able to find an empty train cart to sit in.”

“I’m sure Neville has that covered already,” Ron teased dryly as they slowly made their way on board with Harry feeling very reluctant to give up his search so soon. However, he realized that Ron probably wasn’t wrong about that. He wouldn’t be surprised if he was already sat with his old friends, or Neville and a mix of other people.

“Stuff it, cockblocker,” Harry grumbled, finally giving in as they stepped onto the train and made their way into an empty cart. “Just had to get yourself thrown into the lake, didn’t you.”

“Oi!” Ron squawked indigently. “I didn’t bloody _ask_ to get thrown in, yeah?” 

“Maybe you ought to have thrown yourself in and spared me, because we were so close that night,” Harry retorted childishly. His friends didn’t know exactly how close they were to kissing, but Harry didn’t feel like mentioning it yet.

“Maybe next time I’ll throw you in with the ferret,” Ron grumbled, plopping down on his seat once he handled his bags and helped Hermione with hers. 

“At least you won’t be able to cockblock us in the lake.”

“Children,” Hermione chided with a sigh. “Prefects are meeting in a few minutes and I would like to gather myself before then.”

She was made Head Girl while Draco was made Head Boy, something he wasn’t expecting. Apparently, Headmistress McGonagall had grown quite fond of Draco while they were working on the rebuilding and trusted him enough with this responsibility. Harry thought he deserved it, after everything. After all, throughout the summer he’s managed to prove himself to be changed and reliable, and not just for Slytherins.

“Draco will be there, won’t he?” Harry inquired, trying his best not to look too excited. “I could walk you to the back, if you want. In case there are still a few students who haven’t gotten over the novelty of you being a war hero and all. Safety reasons.”

Ron looked like he was trying his hardest not to snort out loud while Hermione simply raised an eyebrow at him, something that had an increased effect once Draco saw her do it and gave pointers. On being _condescending_. She appreciated it well enough and used it on them as often as she needed to. 

They probably deserved it, anyhow.

“No, I think I’ll be fine,” she eventually smiled once she saw Harry begin to fluster. At least she went with the script. “If the younger years don’t respect me as Head Girl, then at least I know I’ll have my work cut out for me.”

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and it slid open. Harry’s eyebrows were furrowed, wondering who it was that had the audacity to be so bold and let themselves into their cart until he realized that it was just Neville.

“Hey, do you mind if I sit here?” he asked, smiling sheepishly. “Draco said he was going to sit with the other Slytherins because he hasn’t spoken to them enough over the break and I can’t seem to find our other classmates.”

“Sure, mate,” Ron said, making space for Neville to sit down comfortably. The other man thanked him and let himself get settled in before seating himself next to Harry. The cart still had a fair lot of space with only 4 of them in there, so it wasn’t too cramped. Small mercies.

Harry took comfort in the fact that if Draco wasn’t sitting with him, at least he wasn’t with Neville either. Now neither of them could hog Draco.

And _no_ , Harry wasn’t jealous of Neville, _thankyouverymuch_ Hermione. There was no reason to, not when Neville wasn’t even interested in Draco romantically, as far as they knew.

Not more than 5 minutes later, the train had finally left the station. Ron and Neville were engrossed in talking about Quidditch, even though Neville wasn’t the biggest fan of the game. Harry suspected he was doing it for the sake of being a good friend. At least that left him to his own thoughts, first about Draco and then how that school year might go, while Hermione created a list of things to discuss during the Prefects meeting before Hogwarts.

He dozed off for most of the trip and only fully awakened once they arrived at the station. First years were herded off while Harry went ahead in search of a free carriage. Hermione ran to find one of the Hufflepuff Prefects, apparently having forgotten to give them one last reminder and Ron, being the good boyfriend he is, stayed back to wait for her.

Absently, Harry noted that it seemed there were more students present. Of course he didn’t know every student’s name or face in the school, but he was almost sure that there were students in the older years that were definitely not there before.

“Hey,” a soft voice sounded through the noisy area whilst students were loading their trunks. “The carriage I was supposed to ride got full. Can I ride with you?”

Harry looked down and saw Draco standing with his bags. A few carriages to the left, he noticed the other Slytherins looking at Draco apologetically and Parkinson giving Harry a timid wave. Harry’s long since forgiven her, but he knew that she still felt a bit awkward around him.

“Sure thing,” Harry agreed instantly, not wanting to give the blond a chance to change his mind and retreat. Draco climbed in and Harry immediately wondered if he could just leave Ron and Hermione to find their own carriage and take off with only Draco with him. He would have been doing them a favor. He knew what other students got up to when couples got carriages to themselves, anyway.

And suddenly, he tried not to think of what it would imply for him to take the ride alone with Draco.

Sadly, it seems that the fates had it out for him that day, because Hermione arrived with Ron in tow, loading their bags and hopping in.

“Draco! You’re here,” Hermione mused. “Neville saw Luna and decided to join her.”

“Oh, I didn’t see them when I was looking for a spare carriage.” And thank Merlin he didn’t, Harry thought smugly.

“Anyway, are you ready for once the feast ends?” Hermione asked him and Harry had to remind himself that they were Head Boy and Head Girl. “I managed to disseminate the Headmistress’s announcement to the Prefects before I got here.”

“Yes,” Draco sighed with some dread filling his voice, and Harry desperately wanted to know what he could do to make it better.

“What was the announcement?” Harry asked, eyes darting between the two of them.

“Oh, apparently there’s been an increase in students this year since the War is over and parents seem to think that it’s safer to send their kids here now,” Hermione responded. “Aside from that, since the Ministry practically forced some families to send their kids here, some students that were previously taught at home privately decided to go here instead, despite everything.”

“‘Aside from that,’ Draco added, and Harry’s gaze immediately shifted to the Slytherin. “Since they didn’t exactly receive a proper introduction to the school, the Prefects were given a list of each new student so they could keep an eye on them. Answer any questions they might have or help them keep up with classes, in case there are lessons they didn’t learn before and might need in the following years.”

“That’s..nice,” Harry said, because what else was there to say. He was correct when he assumed there were new students, but he was more surprised to hear that some of them came back even after having to suffer under Death Eaters. “Wait, so what are you guys going to do?”

“Uh..” Both Draco and Hermione gave him a funny look, and he realized that now that they’re friends, they’re going to make one hell of a duo. He was already dreading any possible study sessions those two might try to hold for their NEWTs. “Everything?”

“Everything?” Ron piped up. Harry thought he took another nap, but apparently his best friend has been paying attention the whole time. “So you’re going to be pretty busy the whole year, then?”

He sounded slightly disappointed, and Hermione smiled at him apologetically, shifting closer so that they were seated shoulder-to-shoulder. “I’m still going to make time for other things. I promised myself that I’d give more time to just enjoying the school year since it will be our last.”

Ron gave her a smile, the type of smile where you could just tell he was in love with her, his emotions laid bare. Suddenly, Harry felt like he was invading on something private between the two of them and shifted his gaze elsewhere until it finally landed on Draco, who seemed to be thinking the same thing.

Draco’s eyes snapped towards his and his sharp features immediately transformed, sticking his tongue out and making a face that looked as if he was heaving his guts out. Harry let out a snort and apparently that was all it took for his two best friends to remember that there were other people riding with them.

Thankfully, the carriage had just stopped moving, signalling that they had to get off. Ron and Hermione got off first, being the closest ones to the door, and went ahead of Harry and Draco. They continued talking about how they thought the school year would go until they reached the entrance of the Great Hall, where Harry felt rather reluctant to part so soon and go to the Gryffindor table while Draco made off to the Slytherin table on the other side of the hall.

Idly, Harry wondered if he could convince the Headmistress into moving their tables next to each other but then soon remembered that not everyone would be like them, and House rivalries could come back in full strength in a few years. What a shame, it was. Now that he’s been given the chance to get to know them, Gryffindors and Slytherins could wreak great havoc in the school together.

Actually, maybe that’s why Gryffindor and Slytherin were kept on opposite sides.

“Good evening,” the Headmistress’s voice boomed through the hall, effectively silencing everyone. “Before we begin the sorting, I would like to welcome you all properly to Hogwarts. I hope that your year here will be much better than the last.” This earned a few uneasy chuckles and some snorts from the students, but they otherwise remained quiet. “...but should there be anything you need, do not be afraid to approach any of the Prefects or staff. Thank you for entrusting us and coming back to the school, and thank you especially to those that helped rebuild the castle over the summer. There will be more announcements after the Sorting but for now, let us welcome our First Years.”

The doors to the Hall were opened and the First Year students were led in, eyes staring curiously wide as they took in the magnificent site that was the Great Hall. Harry remembered what it felt like the first time he walked in, and it warmed him inside to realize that these innocent kids get to experience it as well, thanks to everyone. 

He zoned out for most of the sorting and spent his time talking to Dean and Seamus. The Sorting took a while since there were relatively more students coming in, along with transferees that are enrolled in the upper years. Once they were done, though, Headmistress McGonagall gave the rest of her announcements and let the feast begin.

As it were, the 8th Years were given privileges since they were older. For starters, they were given a later curfew. They were also granted access to the Restricted Section in the Library, given that they had special permission from a teacher because it was related to their studies.

There were a few more that Harry couldn’t bother to remember, but Hermoine would most likely stop him if he was breaking a rule anyway. Trial and Error, or something.

When the students were being dismissed to their common rooms, Harry got up when Hermione did and followed them out. Technically, he could probably get away with roaming around a bit before curfew, but he was knackered.

Except, when he ran into Draco in the Grand Staircase, he was feeling significantly less tired. The other man, on the other hand, looked frazzled as he kept track of the students walking in a single file.

“Draco,” Harry greeted with a smile, falling into step with the other man’s hurried pace.

“Oh, Harry,” Draco’s face lit up at the sight of him, and a warmth instantly bloomed in his chest.

“Why are you going up? I figured you’d be assigned to keep an eye on the Dungeons for Slytherins and Hufflepuffs,” Harry asked curiously.

“I was supposed to,” Draco responded, giving a slight shrug. “But there are more new Prefects in Ravenclaw and Gryffindor this year, while Slytherin’s and Hufflepuff’s have had prior experience already, so I figured I’d guide them through for their first time.”

Harry opened his mouth to respond but was instantly cut off by Draco holding his arm out to stop the students who were following them from walking. “Hold on, the stairs are moving,” he informed them, then proceeded to give them a quick lecture about safety and the moving stairs in general.

“This is amazing!” a first year whispered in awe.

“Better bloody be amazed,” Draco grumbled under his breath. “Took me so bloody long to figure out the charm work on these.”

Harry belatedly realized that when they began rebuilding, Draco was normally assigned to work with a teacher at first- most of the time that teacher being Professor Flitwick or the Headmistress herself- and helped with a lot of the charm work, such as the one in the Great Hall. He and Hermione worked together often in that aspect because they were both pretty brilliant at theories, and they were successful.

Harry gave a short laugh and a small nudge, enjoying how his lithe frame swayed slightly at the sudden push. “They’re great, Draco,” Harry complimented. “It must have been pretty complicated.”

“Well, what else was to be expected of the founder of Ravenclaw,” Draco huffed, but Harry could see him give a pleased flush at the compliment. “Well, I believe this is where we part,” the Head Boy gave him a small smile.

“Oh,” Harry tried not to sound too disappointed once again. It was the first day of their final year. They still had a long way to go. “Goodnight, then. And good luck with the firsties.”

“Thanks, Harry,” Draco gave him another smile, and Harry was vaguely aware of the students that were still training behind them, possibly listening in on their conversation. “Goodnight.”

Harry was among the first few to arrive in the common room since he left when the first years did and walked pretty fast to keep up with Draco’s hurried pace. He figured he could sleep early and wake up early as well, since Hermione would most likely be up with a lot of time before breakfast.

He took a quick shower and got ready for bed, the sounds of his roommates piling in as he did so. They all followed suit and got ready for bed while chatting jovially. Except once Harry was in bed, he couldn’t actually fall asleep. He tossed and turned for a few more minutes while listening to their conversation until he gave up and drew his curtains back, joining their conversation.

They were all seated in their respective beds, dressed to sleep but all wide awake.

“I’m so not ready for our NEWTs,” Dean groaned. “Do you think I can just wing my way through it?”

“If you don’t think Hermione isn’t planning to hold group study sessions for our year, you’ll be bloody disoriented real soon,” Ron snorted wryly, but there was still a tone of affection in his voice.

“I haven’t even lived yet!” Seamus wailed dramatically. “I haven’t dated and I’m going to die from these classes before I do.”

“Hey, speaking of dating,” Neville piped in, and Harry’s ears immediately perked up. If Neville dates, then he’d probably spend less time around Draco. 

“What about it?” Harry asked, feeling a bit anxious.

“Oh, nothing,” Neville flushed a bit once everyone’s eyes were focused on him. “I just… Okay, well I’m planning on asking someone out. I’m just not quite sure how to go about it yet.”

Ron, Dean, and Seamus instantly broke into wide grins and began teasing him about his crush.

“Just ask them,” Dean shrugged. “It won’t be that bad, especially if they say yes.”

“Well, yeah,” Neville sounded resigned. “But he’s a Slytherin, and you know how they can be.”

“And what’s wrong with them being in Slytherin?” Harry asked, feeling irrationally defensive over the house. Or it could be Draco, but that was beyond the point. However, Neville was close with Draco, so it didn’t quite make sense why it would be a problem.

“Nothing,” Neville said quickly. “I mean, we’ve gotten closer over the summer during the rebuilding and all, but I’m not sure how to get him alone now, especially since they tend to stick to each other like glue.”

Harry suddenly realized that Neville actually gave the name of the person he was planning to ask out, and this gave him a sick feeling in his stomach but he chose to ignore it. So far he said that this person was a he, and he was in Slytherin. And that they got closer over the summer.

No, he tried to be optimistic. It couldn’t be Draco he was planning to ask out. They were alone so often before and Neville’s never made a move, so there was no reason to suddenly start now. 

Except, Neville was trying to make a move now and bloody hell if that didn’t make his gut twist. 

“I’m tired,” Harry suddenly voiced out. “I think I’ll try sleeping again.”

His housemates gave him a quick acknowledgement before turning back to their conversation.

“Well, if you need anything, you can always ask us to help you with your plan to-” the sounds of their voices were cut off when Harry closed his curtain and cast a silencing charm, not wanting to hear any more of their conversation which would probably confirm that the person Neville was planning to ask out was Draco.

He wanted to be happy for his friend, but he still couldn’t help the sick feeling in his gut. He’ll ask Hermione about it, that’s for sure. He thought back to their near-kiss before sleep finally took over him, though, and promised himself one thing.

He wouldn't give up his chance with Draco so easily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I'll try to update as often as I can. You can also receive updates from my [ Tumblr ](https://chaoticowlpost.tumblr.com/masterlist), where I also post short fics not on my ao3 account <3


	4. Chapter 4

“Hermione!” Harry called out to her when he saw she was just about to step out of the portrait. “Wait up!”

“Harry?” She sounded a bit confused. “What are you doing up so early? I was half expecting you and Ron to sleep a bit more today.”

“I went to bed early. The rest of them stayed up late talking,” he explained, rubbing the back of his neck. They began walking side by side to the Great Hall with their things, the pile in her arms significantly more for some reason, but knowing her it was probably academic. 

“Speaking of that,” he tried to sound nonchalant as he brought the topic up. “Neville mentioned that he was thinking of asking someone out.”

“Really?” she sounded a bit surprised. “Who?”

“About that…” they turned left into the Great Hall and sat at the nearly-empty Gryffindor table. “He didn’t give us the exact name, per se, but he did describe him.”

“Him,” she repeated, just to be sure. “Aright, so what do you know? You’re being a bit strange about this, Harry.”

“He’s.. well. He’s a Slytherin, for starters,” he mumbled, avoiding eye contact as he scooped some eggs onto his plate. “And apparently they just got close over the summer.”

A sudden light of realization flickered in her eyes and she began looking at him with pity. “And you think the bloke he’s planning on asking out is Draco, right?” she surmised, and he could only nod sullenly. “Oh Harry,” she sighed. “It could be another Slytherin, for all you know. I mean, technically he’d have only just gotten to know all of the Slytherins over the summer.”

“Yeah, but it makes sense, doesn’t it?” Harry explained, not feeling all too confident with his chances suddenly. “I mean, they’re close. He probably became interested when he realized that he wasn’t such a git after all.”

“Yes, but then why didn’t he ask him out before the school year started, then?” she pondered, coming to the same realization he did last night. “It doesn’t really make sense, waiting until the school year starts when they could have spent more time together over the break.”

“I thought of that too, but it could be because he only realized his feelings now, maybe?” Harry mumbled, eyes still downcast.

“Harry, I’m not just saying these things because I don’t want you to feel bad and give up,” she sighed into her own food. “But at the end of the day, isn’t the person whose opinion matters the most here Draco’s?”

Harry stared at her, then he blinked. And blinked again. “You’re right!” he exclaimed.

“Well, of course,” she huffed. “Who’s to say who Draco wants to go out with. If I remember correctly, you said you guys were close during the party.”

“We were close to kissing,” Harry mumbled shyly, his skin suddenly heating at the memory of that night. Hermione gave him an excited smile, but then he spoke. “But wouldn’t I be a bad friend for asking Draco out when I know Neville likes him?”

“We still don’t know for sure that it’s him he was talking about,” Hermione said unhelpfully, before sighing at his pointed look. “And there’s nothing wrong with being just friends with Draco and seeing where it goes from there. You don’t need to ask him out instantly, and Draco can make his decision when he feels like it. If Neville suddenly asks him out, then you’ll know your answer at least. You’ll only be a bad friend if you purposely try to sabotage Neville, if that’s who he’s planning on asking out.”

Somehow, hearing her insights on the situation was both helpful and not at the same time. She was right when she said that in the end, Draco would be the one who either rejects them or not, and Harry felt like he had a decent shot with him if he was basing this off the party, but at the same time he wasn’t sure about his chances when he and Neville have grown so close.

“I can’t believe you guys left me!” Ron’s voice sounded through the gradually filling Great Hall. “Eating! Without me! I’m starved,” he instantly settled down next to Hermione and began shoveling food onto his plate.

“Well, Ronald,” Hermione huffed, giving her boyfriend a light smile. “It’s your fault you boys stayed up so late to talk. It’s ass if you aren’t going to be seeing each other for the rest of the year!”

“It’s not my fault!” Ron said defensively. “We were coming up with a plan to help Neville ask this bloke out on a date.”

“So you guys will be helping him?’ Harry felt his heart sink. If his friends were rooting for Neville to ask Draco out, then he’d really look like an arse of a friend for trying to get in the way.

“Yeah,” Ron replied, nodding. “Actually, we were hoping you could help out. Since you know Malfoy the best, we were hoping you could distract him until Neville’s plan is ready since he’s practically inseparable from the other Slytherins.”

It sounded quite strange, wanting to separate him from the rest of the group, but maybe it’s because they might slip and tell each other everything. Harry thought that Neville would prefer having their help in this, but apparently not so much.

“And speaking of helping. Hermione! How would you feel about helping us out?” Ron asked enthusiastically. Hermione’s eyes shifted to Harry, weary and unsure of what to do, but Harry gave a subtle nod and tried to convey that it was alright. Whatever happens will happen, he supposed.

On the bright side, he’d get to spend more time with Draco this way. At least he could try to figure out whether what he felt during the night of the party was just on him or if it was mutual.

“But how will I study?” Hermione suddenly asked. 

“It’s fine. We could probably gather a few of the other Slytherins to study with us,” Ron waved off. “From what Neville observed, Nott and Greengrass are also pretty academic. And Goyle could use some help.”

“Brilliant!” Because any plan that involved more studying, and getting others to study, was a great idea in Hermione’s eyes. “Do you think I can get them to keep going even after the plan?”

“That’s all on you,” Ron shrugged, grinning at his girlfriend's enthusiasm. He leaned in to place a kiss on her cheek, causing Harry to move his gaze away from his two best friends, and notice that Draco was walking out of the Great Hall already.

“Hey, er,” Harry mumbled awkwardly, gathering his things. “I’m going to start with that plan of yours. So, goodbye.”

He walked as fast as he could without being obvious to catch up with the lone retreating blond figure in the hallways.

“Hey, Draco!” He called before he could think to regret his actions. Deciding to just go with it, he began a slow jog over to where the man was standing, waiting for him to catch up. “You’re taking Transfiguration, right?”

“I am,” Draco confirmed. Of course he was. His persistence on taking as many classes as he can is as bad as Hermione’s. They began walking side by side together to the classroom. “I wish September 1st landed on a Friday this year,” he sighed. “Not a bloody Wednesday so we don’t have to go to class right after the feast.”

“Maybe you ought to have asked the Headmistress,” Harry snorted. “It’s only the first day, anyway. They’ll probably just go over everything we need to learn before actual lessons start.”

“I still had to wake up early,” Draco mumbled, kicking at the ground petulantly before lifting it up in one graceful sway and taking another step. 

“Poor ickle Draco,” Harry cooed, mussing up his hair, Though it was no longer slicked back harshly and settled loosely behind his ears, it was practically pristine and perfect. Well, at least it was until Harry got to it.

“You bastard,” Draco rolled his eyes and swatted Harry’s hand away, but he could see Draco’s lips form a slight smile. Suddenly, he got a mischievous glint in his eyes and shoved his fingers in Harry’s hair before yanking his hand back harshly.

“Ow! You tosser,” Harry yelped as Draco pulled his hand back smugly. “I didn’t bloody grab your hair and pull at it!”

“I didn’t grab it. It’s hardly my fault you don’t know what a brush is,” Draco smirked. 

“I tried,” Harry said defensively. “It just… tangles easily. I don’t know.”

“Merlin, Potter,” Draco huffed, now completely amused. “Don’t you know there are potions for that?”

“Well, yeah,” Harry shrugged. “But I figured having a rat’s nest on my head was pretty solid branding.”

“I’d like to think using your grandfather’s hair potion would be pretty good branding as well,” Draco said, raising an eyebrow at him. “You know considering it was made for your hair type and all.”

“My grandfather did a what now?” Harry asked dumbfoundedly, unaware of this fact and a bit put-off that Draco knew this about his family before he did.

“Fleamont Potter, I believe was his name,” Draco explained in a non-condescending voice. “At least I believe he’s your grandfather, if I remember my family trees correctly. Merlin, Potter, you should at least be aware of the thing that probably made your whole vault. Actually, it’s probably still adding today.”

“I don’t even want to know why you have family trees memorized,” Harry mumbled, shaking his head lightly. “Maybe I’ll give it a go, then.”

Draco offered to help him out with it once he got his hands on some because he was ‘a pleb with no experience over things involving aesthetics.’ Not feeling offended in the slightest, Harry agreed with a shrug and looked forward to the idea of having Draco run his hands through his hair.

 _Gently this time_ , he hoped.

When they arrived in the near-empty classroom, Draco immediately made a beeline for a seat near the front and in the corner. Harry followed him and occupied the only seat next to him before regretting it instantly. Kinda. He wasn’t in the mood to sit in front when he knew he would probably take a nap at some point, except he couldn’t exactly do that now since the teacher had an unobstructed view of him.

“You’re not going to sit next to Hermione and Weasley?” Draco asked, raising an eyebrow at him. _Please_ , Harry thought, as if he wasn’t regretting this already.

But when the other students filed in and Blaise Zabini took the seat behind Draco and the one next to him was filled in by Neville not long after, Harry was suddenly glad he was able to nab the seat next to Draco.

“Hey, Harry. Draco,” Neville greeted. His blond head turned to greet them and gave them a smile and began talking with them as he brought out a quill and a notebook to take notes in class.

“I’m surprised you managed to herd Harry into sitting in the front today,” Neville teased, giving Draco what looked to be a knowing smile. For what reason, Harry had no idea. He was just glad that Neville wasn’t pissed that he took the seat next to Draco when he’s planning on asking him out eventually. 

“He was probably confused,” Draco huffed. If one were to look closely, it would seem like there was a light pink sheen fighting its way onto his cheeks, but maybe Harry was overthinking and beginning to see things. “In fact, he’s probably still confused. Don’t think I’m going to let you copy my notes, Potter.”

Whenever Draco said his last name now, it sounded more affectionate compared to every other time he used it in their previous years. It was a welcomed change, something that could probably remind Harry of happier things in the future rather than every time they fought in the past.

He forced himself to not put too much meaning behind this little detail he noticed, but that didn’t stop him from hoping.

“If I managed to pass 6 years without studying too hard, then I’m sure I’ll be fine,” Harry retorted, smiling good-naturedly. “Besides, I can always borrow Hermione’s notes if you manage to resist my charms.”

“Charms,” the man on his left snorted.

“Harry James Potter, do not even think for a moment that I will be letting you skive off your academics on the most important school year of our lives,” Hermione scolded. He hadn’t even realized that she took the free seat next to him with Ron on the next seat over.

“I was just joking,” he laughed, smiling sheepishly at his bushy-haired friend. When he heard a snort coming from Draco’s general direction again, he scooted his chair a bit to elbow him in the side.

“Subtle,” Draco gasped, giving a slightly pained wheeze. Harry turned his head slightly just to be sure that he didn’t accidentally hit him too hard, only to be met with a light, teasing smile, which he gladly returned.

Unfortunately, the new Transfiguration teacher arrived at that moment, putting all conversations that filled the room to a close. But by some miracle, Harry was able to sit next to Draco in all their shared classes that day so all in all, it was a good day.

“Hey, mate,” he ran into Neville after Potions, his last shared class with Draco for the day. Afterwards, the Slytherin was heading to Ancient Runes with Hermione while that was Harry and Ron’s last class for that day. “Can we talk?”

Harry’s palms began sweating and he could feel his heart practically trying to beat its way out of his chest, wondering if Neville noticed how Harry kept monopolizing Draco in every class they had. 

“Sure thing,” Harry nodded hesitantly, following his friend.

“Okay, great. Follow me.”

Yeah, he was screwed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I'll try to update as often as I can. You can also receive updates from my [ Tumblr ](https://chaoticowlpost.tumblr.com/masterlist), where I also post short fics not on my ao3 account <3


	5. Chapter 5

“Okay,” Neville said, turning to face Harry once they entered an empty classroom. 

“So…” Harry said soon after, feeling undeniably tense for the confrontation that was about to come. “What did you need?”

“Not much,” Neville said, “You’ve been hanging around Draco all day, though,” Neville pointed out, giving him a rather skeptical look.

“I have,” Harry nodded, agreeing. He was beginning to wonder why Neville wasn’t just getting on with it, but it could have been that he was plotting his long, painful death. Either way, Harry braced himself for when his friend opened his mouth again.

“So I take it that Ron has filled you in on the plan?” Neville asked him, leaning against one of the tables in the empty classroom.

“Kinda,” Harry replied, shrugging. Ron did say that their plan included Harry keeping Draco away from Neville, and something about keeping the other Slytherins distracted so they don’t reform their unpenetrable group, but that was about it. 

“Great,” Neville exhaled, giving him an easy smile, and now Harry was confused. “You’re the only one I’d trust to leave Draco with for company for a long time. I don’t think the others would fancy being in your place as much.”

“It’s no problem to me. I like Draco.” If only he knew how true that statement was.

“He’s difficult to not like,”’ Neville said, his smile turning odd. “Wow, if someone told me I’d be saying that a few years ago, I would have sent them to a mind healer.”

Harry nodded, agreeing with a small, fond smile of his own.

“Anyhow, I was going to tell you that you don’t have to distract Draco anymore,” Neville told him, and Harry froze on the spot, asking aloud why not. “Well, I figured out a plan and have an idea for our possible date.”

 _Our date_ , were the only words that processed in his mind, and he felt his stomach drop. 

“Won’t you be busy, then?” Harry asked, hoping that if Draco says yes, at least he’ll have a way to still spend time with him, even if it’s just as friends.

“I might be,” Neville said, tilting his head to the side, seemingly studying Harry. “But you’re right. I might also not be able to see him as much if I’m setting things up.”

Harry nodded, understanding the implications of his statement. “I should probably go. I promised Hermione I’d put some effort into revising today.”

“Alright,” Neville said, nodding. “I’m going to meet Draco after his class ends and… tell him about our change of plans.”

That last statement left a sour taste in Harry’s mouth, but he watched the other man’s retreating figure make its way through the doorway.

“By the way,” Neville said, peaking his blond heat through at the last moment. “Take care of him, yeah?” then he left without waiting for his response.

 _Take care of him for me is probably what he meant_ , Harry thought bitterly. 

He tried to shake off the heavy feeling in his chest by taking the longer route to the Gryffindor dormitories and giving himself some time to think during the walk. 

So now he has confirmation that the Slytherin Neville is planning to ask out is Draco, and he’s not quite sure what to do. Thinking back to his conversation with Hermione from breakfast, he concluded that he should just avoid interfering. By the sounds of it, Neville hasn’t asked him on the date yet, which means that there’s still a possibility that he’d say no.

But then, would Harry be able to help himself when he’s around Draco?

He could- or at least, he could try. All he knew was that no matter what happens, it would hurt him far more to not have him in his life afterwards. Yes, he could be there for his friends, even if it meant that he wouldn’t have Draco for himself.

Sighing heavily as he gave the password, he entered the dorms and headed straight to bed, not bothering to set an alarm for when Hermione’s class was supposed to end so they could get onto revising. 

It was just too bad that the next time his eyes opened, it was because Ron didn’t want to revise on his own with Hermione. Well, he normally did but that was only when revising meant having… study breaks in between, which meant Hermione was in the mood to get actual work done at the moment.

“Remind me why I agreed to this?” Harry grumbled, forcing himself to get up.

“Because your ferret is busy with Neville and you want to prove to everyone that you became an Auror on your own merits?” Ron guessed sarcastically, dragging him down the stairs.

“The order of which you said that is mildly concerning regarding what you think my priorities are?” Harry pointed out, not wanting to think too much on the fact that Draco is with Neville right now, possibly being asked out on a date.

“Ah, but I was merely stating them by the order of how you prioritize them,” Ron smirked teasingly. “By the way, you hang out with him too much. Starting to talk the same.”

“Oh please,” Harry huffed. “He’s around Neville too much for that statement to be true,” Harry mumbled under his breath, rolling his eyes until he realized how that might have come off to Ron, who was most definitely on Neville’s plan of asking Draco out.

“Jealous?” Ron asked, and Harry knew he was joking but he was right; he was a tad jealous. Before Harry could respond, Ron quickly remembered something. “Oh wait, I left my essay somewhere in my trunk. Tell Hermione to give me a second.”

He bolted his way back up the stairs, leaving Harry to leave, resigned, and take a seat next to his best friend, who already had her head bent over one of their textbooks. 

“Why do you look so glum?” she asked without taking a second to spare a glance at him. Harry briefly wondered how she knew and entertained the idea that he was starting to radiate brooding vibes before answering her instead.

“I got the confirmation,” he sighed. Saying it out loud made it much more real, and he didn’t realize how much it actually hurt.

Her head instantly snapped up to look at him, eyebrows furrowing. “Oh Harry,” she sighed, setting down her book. “We knew it was a possibility.”

“I know,” he mumbled, curling his knees to his chest. “Neville said he was working on his date with Draco.”

“Oh dear,” she sighed once more. “Well, you never know. He might not say yes.”

He gave the bushy-haired girl a half-hearted glare. “Don’t,” he said. “Just don’t. I don’t want to get my hopes up over nothing, and the thing is I can’t even blame him for saying yes.”

“Harry,” Hermione said soothingly. “I know it’s hard, but I think you should give yourself some time and space away from them. If they’re happy together, then wouldn’t it be nice if you could find a way for yourself to be happy as well?”

“You have a point,” he started when he saw her give him a pitiful look. “But I’m not sure. I don’t think I’d be able to get over him just like that, but I also don’t want to lose him.”

“Look, I’m not saying it’s wrong to want to keep him in your life,” she said, “But I want you to take care of yourself. If you can’t handle it, there’s nothing wrong with stepping away for a while.”

“I think I can handle it,” he said, attempting to give her a smile although he was sure it came out more as a grimace. “I’ll just-”

“I told you I did it!” Ron exclaimed, running down the stairs with a parchment in hand, raised above his head and flapping in the air. “My Transfiguration essay, m’lady.”

Hermione gave Harry one last look before grinning at her boyfriend’s antics. “You present it to me as if it’s a gift and not like I’m doing you a favor here.”

“It’s a gift and you should be proud because I did it on my own initiative without complaining,” he said smugly. 

“Alright, Ronald,” she sighed dramatically, lips quirked upwards. “Now take a seat so we can start.”

Resigning himself to a night of studying and not being with Draco, Harry quietly took his books out while his friends flirted with one another and began staring blankly at the pages, unable to actually focus on the text and instead brooded on his own thoughts.

\--------------------------------------------------

“Harry!” Draco was walking quickly after him because _Malfoys did not run after people_ , waving his hand to catch his attention. Harry’s heart fluttered at the idea that Draco wanted to talk to him instead of finding Neville, so he immediately paused mid-step to let the blond man catch up to him.

“What’s up?” Harry asked, aiming for casual. They began walking side by side down the hall. Harry wasn’t even sure if they were meant to be in the same area, prompting Draco to walk with him, or if his classmate just wanted to talk with him.

Either way, Harry would take it.

“I bought that hair potion I was talking about,” Draco explained, pulling something out of his bag. It was a glass container with a green substance inside. It looked rather appealing, in Harry’s opinion, but he trusted Draco’s judgement.

“Potion for…..?” Harry trailed off. They had talked about a lot of potions, in his defense, because Draco had been helping him study for that subject in particular.

“The hair potion your family invented, you dolt??” Draco responded, rolling his eyes fondly. “I knew you’d forget, so I’ve taken it upon myself to order it for you.”

“And what a wonderful and tedious accomplishment you’ve done for the world,” Harry said dryly.

“But of course,” Draco scoffed in a rather impressive imitation of his younger self. “Now nobody would have to look at that monstrosity that lays atop your head.”

“A hero to us all,” Harry rolled his eyes, turning a corner. Draco had finally given in and laughed, bumping their shoulders lightly, a small form of contact that nearly had Harry stumbling on his own feet. “So, were you hoping to try it now?”

“Sorry, I can’t,” Draco answered, looking a bit disappointed. “Head Boy duties. I promised some new 6th Years that I’d help them with their Charms texts.”

Harry had forgotten that he and Hermione were supposed to do that. “Oh,” he mumbled, trying not to sound too disappointed. “It’s alright, I’m sure I can figure it out on my own.”

“Excited to get the rat’s nest off your own head too, are you?’ Draco teased lightly, leaving Harry slightly relieved that he didn’t think too hard on his disappointed tone, or he didn’t notice it. “Would it be alright if I did it after dinner, then?”

Harry couldn’t stop his grin if he tried. “Sounds good. Where should I meet you?”

“Would it be alright if we did it in the Slytherin dorms?” Draco asked, his gray eyes peering at him through the blond strands of his hair. “Unless it’s inconvenient of course and you’d prefer your dorms but I-”

“Slytherin dorms are fine,” Harry smiled kindly at him, resisting the urge to kiss his worry away.

But no, the man wasn’t his, and there was a very real possibility he’d be with one of his friends in the near future. If his only chance to be close to Draco was as friends, then he’d rather not ruin it. 

“Okay,” Draco practically chirped, beaming at him. “I’ll meet you in the dungeons and bring you in.”

“Or you could give me the password and I’ll find my way in,’ Harry suggested, completely joking. Sure, he knew where they were, but he’d rather not be the only Gryffindor in there without a single Slytherin to back him up.

“You wish, Potter,” gray eyes rolled at him. “I’ll meet you after dinner.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I'll try to update as often as I can. You can also receive updates from my [ Tumblr ](https://chaoticowlpost.tumblr.com/masterlist), where I also post short fics not on my ao3 account <3


	6. Chapter 6

“Follow me,” Draco said, leading him through the entrance.

They walked at a leisurely pace, giving Harry the chance to have a look around as they passed. All things considered, such as the fact that he was here without the risk of getting caught or looking for a possible murderer, the common room actually seemed quite nice.

Sure, it was still a bit darker than the Gryffindor Tower, but the place actually seemed quite… cozy. There were some scattered cushions on the carpet by the fire, surrounded by worn leather sofas. The light from the lake glowed through the windows, lighting up the different corners of the room in a somewhat striking way as they reflected on the various surfaces there.

“This way,” the Slytherin instructed him, not even sparing a glance around the room. There were a few curious stares but other than that, nobody seemed to mind his presence there. It was no secret that it had become more common to allow members of other houses into their dorms, provided that they were let in by one of the hosting house members.

Harry followed the blond as they passed an array of doors which he assumed were the different student accomodations for the lower years before they stopped at the one on the very end, looking much like the previous ones did.

When they walked in, Harry was somewhat disappointed to note that it wasn’t much different from their own room in Gryffindor, bar that it seemed slightly more spacious as it was rectangular in shape rather than circular.

“What, were you expecting that we have larger beds and a sitting room?” Draco snorted once Harry voiced his thoughts. “No, the founders of the school wanted to make sure that this was equal for most all students. The only difference is whether or not you want to customize it a bit, like my bed sheets.”

Now that he had pointed it out, Harry noticed that unlike the blankets he had on his own bed, Draco’s had a thin duvet on it, something that shouldn’t make him overheat during the hotter parts of the year given the cool air of the dorm from being situated under the lake.

“I hadn’t realized that you could do that,” Harry grumbled, suddenly wishing that he had brought something to personalize his own area in his dorm.

“Most don’t bother,” Draco shrugged, kneeling at the foot of what Harry presumed was his own bed and opening his trunk to rummage through it. “You can take a seat, it might take me a while to find it since I lost a book yesterday and kinda threw everything around.

When Harry peered over his shoulder, he realized that the inside of his trunk was expanded and, even worse, the many cabinets it came with were also expanded. He figured that yeah, it would take a while, he might as well take a seat.

Except he didn’t take a seat and instead flopped face down into Draco’s bedding, inhaling the soft scent that can only be described as Draco.

“Well you sound comfortable,” Draco snorted, his head now inside the trunk. Harry rolled over so that he could respond properly, except his head rolled onto the corner of something hard and somewhat sharp.

“Ouch,” he mumbled, moving his head off the offending object to take a look at it. The object, as it turns out, was a hard-bound book on plants, or something. “What’s this?” he asked, holding the book up for the man on the floor to see.

“Huh?” Draco asked, his voice muffled. He peeked his head from the top of the casing and eyed the item in Harry’s hand. “Oh, that. It’s Neville’s. He left it here when he came by yesterday.”

“Neville comes here often, then?” Harry asked, trying to go for nonchalant and possibly missing by a mile. He silently glared at the book once Draco buried his head back in the suitcase.

“Sometimes. When we get tired after tending to the greenhouse, for example, or when Potions is our last period and he’d rather stay here instead of go all the way to the library or something since I have a sufficient amount of books,” Draco responded absentmindedly. “Aha!”

“You found it?” Harry asked, shoving away all the possible reasons and things they get up to when he and Neville are in here, because Harry was the one who was with him now, and he’d much rather savour the moment.

“Yes,” Draco nodded, getting up. “This would probably be better if we did it in the bathroom. They’d kill me if I got our floor wet because I’m pretty shite at cleaning charms.”

“After you fixed up a whole castle?” Harry snorted, smiling at the thought.

“They assigned me to more technical tasks,” the blond shrugged. “Probably recognized precious cargo when they saw it.”

Harry had to stop himself from agreeing eagerly to the last comment, instead choosing to let out a huff of laughter as he followed the Slytherin into their bathroom.

“Okay so first, I’m going to need you to wet your hair. We’ll work in the potion after that and let it sit before rinsing it out. It should last you a while, but you should probably redo the treatment every week or every other week to maintain it,” Draco instructed, waving him off to one of the showers.

Harry stripped off his shirt before stepping in, tilting his head carefully to make sure he didn’t wet his jeans before placing a towel over his shoulders before walking out.

Draco, who had been fumbling with the potion, nearly dropped the glass vial when he saw Harry. “Where is your shirt?” he asked, his voice sounding odd.

Harry gave him a questioning look. “You told me to wet my hair, so I figured I might as well preserve my shirt for later.”

“Right,” Draco said, clearing his throat. His cheeks were an appealing shade of pink, though for what reason, Harry didn’t know. “Take a seat so I can massage it in, and remember to pay attention so you can do it on your own.”

Harry immediately sank down on the stool Draco had transfigured, the blond moving around him until he was situated at his back. “It’s going to feel cold,” he warned.

Suddenly, he felt the potion drip through the hairs on his scalp, caught at the base by Draco’s hand so the excess didn’t go to waste. Harry let out a violent shudder despite the previous warning and resisted the urge to squirm and distract the man that had volunteered to help him.

The hand began working the excess potion through his hair, massaging his scalp with just the right amount of pressure and making sure to cover every inch of his head. And hell, if his fingers didn’t feel like magic.

Well, technicalities.

“You’re good at this,” Harry mumbled, resisting the urge to groan at how good it felt.

“I’m good at many things,” was the immediate response, making Harry’s thoughts spiral downwards. Thoughts and, apparently, the blood that was meant to be flowing through his brain.

He willed himself not to think of those things, however, because he was practically exposed like this, and he didn’t want to make Draco uncomfortable by a surprise hard-on.

Instead, he tipped his head back and let it rest lightly against the flat of Draco’s stomach, looking him in the eye. His gray eyes, unfortunately, did not look back, seeing as they were much more focused on the task at hand, the fingers massaging his head not even pausing at the movement.

“I have no doubt of that,” Harry grinned cheekily. 

“Stop that,” Draco mumbled. Maybe the lighting in the Slytherin bathrooms was strange, because it wasn’t like Draco to seem flushed so often. “You’re wetting my shirt with the potion and wasting good product.”

Harry let out a laugh at that and obediently straightened himself, allowing Draco to continue with his work. It took a few minutes; time Harry savoured greatly because of how good Draco was at giving head massages, until they were finally finished. Harry was almost disappointed to think that he’d have to do this on his own the next time.

“Alright, go rinse your hair off,” Draco commanded. “I’ll fetch you a clean spare towel since some of the potion dripped on the one you’re using now.”

In all honesty, Harry didn’t mind, but Draco was being kind, so he would indulge. He heard Draco’s footsteps fade under the sounds of the rushing water of the shower, scrubbing at his head lazily until the slick texture of the potion could no longer be felt. When he turned around, he saw a fresh towel slung over the door and grabbed it, using it to rub vigorously at his wet hair.

“Oh, for Salazar’s sakes,” Draco huffed, walking back into the bathroom dressed in his pajamas with his hair wet.. “No wonder your hair is in constant disarray. Give me that!”

He snatched the towel from Harry’s clutches before reaching up to pat the towel firmly against his head, scrunching his hair through the thick material. “If you do it like that, your hair could become frizzy, and it damages your hair if you do it too hard.”

Harry, not paying that much attention to the words that came out of the exasperated Slytherin’s mouth, found himself leaning into the touch and sighing contentedly. “Feels nice when you do it,” he murmured, causing Draco’s lips to quirk upwards.

“Honestly,” Draco huffed. “You’re like a dog.” That did not discourage him, however, from continuing. Instead, his touches became more gentle and soft- or rather, that’s how it felt to Harry.

This went on for a few more minutes, a bit longer than expected and very close to what could be considered suspicious, before Draco grabbed his discarded shirt and tossed it back to him. “C’mon, it should be dry enough to try and style for now. You’ll have to do this part every day on your own, though, so do try to pay attention this time.”

Harry was sorely tempted to do the complete opposite, if not because he’d rather have Draco do it for him every day then for the reason of just spiting him in general.

They sat back down on the bed with Harry positioned at the end while Draco sat on his knees behind him. He summoned a full-length mirror that was placed by his bed-side so that Harry could see what he was doing. 

He felt the bed shift behind him, watching the blond hair peek above his own dark curls as Draco attempted to position himself higher so see what he was doing as well as be able to look over Harry’s figure, grumbling and wishing he were taller.

Harry was inexplicably charmed, and it took everything in him to not break out into the goofiest, soppy grin.

“Alright,” Draco huffed once he managed to get himself into an acceptable position which was, unfortunately for Harry, having him practically pressed up against his back. “Watch.”

Harry did his best to watch what he was doing, something that prooved to be a trying task once he found his eyes wandering towards the pale fingers that worked their way through his hair and the slightest hint of a pink tongue poking through a pair of plump lips and, much like when they were in the bathroom, the soothing way Draco’s hands felt against his scalp.

Draco stopped moving for a second, bending down until his chin was practically resting against his shoulder to look at Harry’s reflection at eye-level, causing him to resist the urge to squirm.

“Hmm,” Draco hummed before straightening himself. “Maybe not.”

“Maybe not what?” Harry grinned. “I think it looked fantastic.”

“Then it’s a good thing I’m the one managing your hair right now, isn’t it?” Draco retorted, still focused on the task at hand.

Harry let out a huff of laughter.”Then maybe you should be the one to fix me up every morning,” he said.

“If you’d come down earlier with enough time for me to fix you up before classes start, then maybe I’d consider it,” Draco shot back. Harry wondered if he was being serious about that offer, then decided he’d take it even if it wasn’t actually being offered.

“Sure,” Harry shrugged. “But there’s no class tomorrow, so how do you feel about doing it sometime between before and after lunch, depending on when I wake up?” Harry teased.

“There!” Draco said triumphantly before bending down once again to check Harry’s reflection in the mirror. Seemingly deciding that the reflection was no longer good enough, he instead shifted a bit to the side and grabbed Harry’s face, turning it to face him.

Harry felt a blush creep up from his cheeks and mentally willed them to stop since Draco’s hands were on his face and would most likely be able to feel the warmth in his cheeks even if it were covered by his hands.

“Looks good,” Draco grinned satisfactorily before flopping down on his bed. Harry lied down as well so that they were side by side, their shoulders just barely touching. “And I would tomorrow, but I’m going out with Neville to Hogsmead.”

It took a second for Harry to remember what they were talking about but when he did, he felt his heart drop a little and his good mood sour.

“Oh,” was all he said.

“But I could probably do it before class if you actually do get up, that is until you get the hang of it at least,”’ Draco conceded, not noticing the odd tone to Harry’s voice.

“So you’re going out with Neville, then?” He asked, trying not to sound toi bitter.

“Well yeah,” Draco shrugged, side-eyeing him before looking back up at the ceiling. “He asked me to come with him.”

“Hmm,” Harry said, unsure of what else to say. “Have fun , then.”

“Why are you being odd?” Draco asked him. Harry flushed again, regretting letting himself be so transparent. 

“Nothing, I was just curious,” Harry lied. “I’ll probably go with Ron and Hermione if they don’t have a date planned yet.”

“Good luck with that,” Draco laughed. “Well, he wants to leave right after breakfast, so I should probably rest early.”

As if to further his point, Zabini walked in with Theo trailing behind him, both looking as if they were ready to go to sleep.

“I should probably go then,” Harry mumbled, forcing himself up and extracting himself from the warm bed. It was nice and comfortable, and he regretted leaving it already.

“Alright,” Draco nodded, turning himself without getting up so that his head was rested on the pillow. “See you tomorrow, maybe?”

Harry nodded mutely, giving him a tight smile before letting himself out of the room, not trusting himself to say anything else that might give his feelings away.

And as he made his way down the hall, he knew that the heavy feeling he had was more than just missing the warm bed he recently left behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I'll try to update as often as I can. You can also receive updates from my [ Tumblr ](https://chaoticowlpost.tumblr.com/masterlist), where I also post short fics not on my ao3 account <3

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I'll try to update as often as I can. You can also receive updates from my [ Tumblr ](https://chaoticowlpost.tumblr.com/masterlist), where I also post short fics not on my ao3 account <3


End file.
